How to grow organic Chard in a biological way
How to grow organic Chard in a biological way
Vegetable beet (Beta vulgaris L. var. Cruenta (L.) Salisb.) Is a root vegetable that is cooked. It is cultivated both in the gardens and in the open field to supply the market and the industry. It is cultivated throughout Italy but above all in the North. In this sheet we see how to grow the garden Chard in a biological way.
Vegetable beet is a species suitable for regions with a humid temperate climate; it also has a good resistance to cold, but interrupts its growth at temperatures below 5 ° C. how the chard adapts to all types of soil, preferring those deep, fresh, well drained and equipped with potassium, microelements and organic substance (with very mature manure) and with a neutral or sub-alkaline pH; it can also be grown in soils with high salinity content. For a good and tender conformation of the roots, we must avoid the water stresses that cause stunting of root growth and hardening, compromising the production and the quality of the product.
There are different varieties of garden beet that are classified according to the root shape and the precocity of the crop cycle (early, medium-early, medium-late).
The garden chard can be considered a sowing crop with sowing that can occur from March to October. The plant can be made for direct sowing or transplanting the seedlings (but which is not recommended because of the risk of obtaining deformed or bifurcated roots).
Spread sowing should be carried out after preparing the sowing bed very well (for large extensions, the mechanical sowing is performed in rows 40-50 cm apart and 15-20 on the row) and at a depth of 1-2 cm. About 10 kg of seeds are used on average per hectare. After sowing it is necessary to thin out if you want to obtain roots of uniform size. In organic cultivation, obviously, we do not proceed with chemical weeding techniques, but we can proceed with mulches along the rows with straws.
From sowing to harvesting they pass from 60 to 90 days and this depends on the cultivar and the climatic conditions. To have roots of good quality, however, you must wait until they have reached a minimum of 5-8 cm in diameter. After harvesting the plants are gathered in bunches of 3-6 after the oldest and washed leaves have been removed.
The yields in organic production can reach and exceed 250 quintals per hectare in good growing conditions; the preservability of the roots (deprived of the leaves) in the fridge (at 0 ° C and 95% relative humidity) can reach about 2 months.
For adversity you can go to consult the variety of chard.